The Future of Service Supply Chain

Service@Core: insights into maturity, ambitions and challenges

This report gives insights about the service maturity level of organisations and the challenges they face in preparing their service solutions for the future. This 'Service@Core' transformation creates disruption in five dimensions explored in the report.

56%

of respondents aim to put services at the core of their business model
85%

will invest heavily to increase their data and analytics capabilities within 3 years
40%

have limited or no visibility on their service activities
77%

of participating companies confirm that the service technician profile is changing

The service supply chain integrates sales, field service management and customer services into a unique, unified service offering for the client. Products are no longer seen as the end product but rather as leverage tools used to create value for the customer. PwC defines the Service@Core approach as a strategy that puts services at the centre of every organisation.

The goal of the survey that led to this report is to answer three key questions:

Where do companies stand today in their Service@Core transformation?
Where do they want to go to in the near future?
What are the challenges that companies face in preparing their service activities for the future?

The five dimensions

This report focuses on the five key dimensions of a service supply chain in which we see the biggest disruption: business model, planning, data and analytics, emerging technologies, and human capital. Companies can assess their maturity on these five dimensions and can use the results to understand where the biggest challenges will lie in preparing their service business for the future.

Business model

In the last decades, we’ve seen a shift from business models completely focused on products to those that increasingly put services at the core of their market offering and organisation.

56% of respondents aim to put services at the core of their business model within three years.

Planning

A service business model adds an extra dimension to the planning exercise that needs to be performed: ensuring that both products and services are available in the right place at the right time.

Our survey indicates that 40% of companies have limited or no visibility on their service activities.

Data & analytics (D&A)

Data’s a growing priority for service organisations, and it comes in all shapes and sizes. The study shows that companies are capturing a lot of different types of data from various sources.

85% of participants are actively working on increasing their maturity in D&A within three years.

Emerging Technologies

A sustainable, future-proof service supply chain can only be obtained by implementing the appropriate and necessary technologies that can help optimise the service offering. It’s easy to get overwhelmed by the pace at which new technological innovations emerge.

Our survey indicates that connected products/the IoT and new customer interfaces are perceived by service professionals as the two technologies with the highest potential in a service environment.

Human Capital

Emerging technologies and the increasingly complex environment in which service companies need to operate have changed the required competencies of people active in services. The war for digital talent is the main driver to upskill the existing workforce.

77% of respondents confirm that the service technician profile is changing.

How PwC can help?

The first step in growing your service maturity is to assess how mature your company is today and in which of the five dimensions your major improvement opportunities lie.

Our team of specialists can guide you on your way to the service supply chain of the future. We have specialists in each of the five dimensions, and we can help you grow in each of them.